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  1. Link the Writer

    Link the Writer Flipping Out For A Good Story. Contributor

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    Female view of showering.

    Discussion in 'Research' started by Link the Writer, Mar 2, 2011.

    A few months ago, a good friend of me, Eglaisma posted on here about the male showering. Now it's time for me to post about the opposite sex.

    I am doing this because I'm considering a scene where one of my female protagonist takes a shower. Basically, all I know from having an elder sister is that girls shave their legs and they use a...thing that looks...well...what do you call it anyway? XD

    Yeah, that's the point of the thread. :p
     
  2. Melzaar the Almighty

    Melzaar the Almighty Contributor Contributor

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    I shower pretty quickly and basically - hop in, maybe use body wash if I feel stinky, but usually just let the shampoo act as whole-body soap as it's rinsing out. Then I use lots of
    conditioner, and probably shave my legs. Have no idea what the thing you think we use is though. :p I pretty much have a flannel and bottles of soapy things.

    But I don't really have bad skin, an active life style that means I always need to be clean, or long hair so I don't have to do much to it.

    There is some sort of shower gunk that you can get for shaving your legs which is like shaving cream but all nice-scented :p
     
  3. Peerie Pict

    Peerie Pict Contributor Contributor

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    A loofah?
     
  4. Link the Writer

    Link the Writer Flipping Out For A Good Story. Contributor

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    Yeah, something like that.

    I do have a question, though, why do you girls need more than one shampoo?
     
  5. Melzaar the Almighty

    Melzaar the Almighty Contributor Contributor

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    It's not - shampoo cleans, but it strips the hair of vital oils. If I JUST shampoo my hair (even once!) it goes coarse and frizzy and, in the wrong weather, static-y. If I use conditioner afterwards, it makes it soft, shiny and kills all the frizz dead. :) They do very different things. If you use them in the wrong order you'll just strip the conditioner and still get dry hair.
     
  6. Peerie Pict

    Peerie Pict Contributor Contributor

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    I don't always. Sometimes giving it an extra shampoo and condition on top of the first makes my hair cleaner and then softer when it dries.
     
  7. w176

    w176 Contributor Contributor

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    Girls showering ranges from:

    "Well. I step in to the shower, uses the soap, showers for 3 min and get clean I suppose?"

    to

    "I'm at the gym, and want to get home. Shampoo. Conditioner. Towel. Done."

    to

    "RAWR! I need to spend 200 dollars and at least 2 hours on beauty stuff every time I shower, otherwise I feel hideous and envy anyone wearing a burka."

    But there also an aspect of culture here.

    I have had some experience training with other martial artist people from the UK, US and Ireland, and would like to put in that the relationship to nudity really differ. Even with extremely physically comfortable people like martial artist used to have their face stuck in other peoples armpits.

    Sweden is a culture with non sexual nudity, compared to English speaking countries for examples, and it makes a difference in how people behave and interact in the showers. Both with the own sex and across sexes. In Sweden is socially acceptable for example mixing male and females of all ages in the sauna, nude. Because sitting in a sauna, sweating, making smalltalk isn't sexual from our cultural perspective.
     
  8. w176

    w176 Contributor Contributor

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    We don't. Not really. We got the same hair as boys do. Just society making us believe that we need it.

    But if you have long hair, washing it, and drying it takes more time, no matter what sex you got. And you might want to use a conditioner to make it easier to brush etc. But that goes for anyone with long hair.
     
  9. Peerie Pict

    Peerie Pict Contributor Contributor

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    Hey that's pretty cool. I wish our culture in the UK wasn't so hyper sexualised. Our office culture is dripping with sexual innuendo/flirting but at the same time Brits are a bit prudish about sex too. I suppose it seems like a paradox but it's really not. If you make something taboo, people tend to become obsessed by it.
     
  10. Elgaisma

    Elgaisma Contributor Contributor

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    Men in my life take way more bottles into the shower than I do -

    I tend to get in wash hair with shampoo put conditioner in, shave legs and underarms (using conditioner), use soap then spend time rinsing conditioner off and letting hot steamy water run over me.
     
  11. PurpleCandle

    PurpleCandle New Member

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    No one has mentioned that females (a large portion of women, not all) get in the shower, turn that water on hot and then just stand there relaxing....because the 10 minutes in the shower is the only time when it is quiet, no body is bothering us, children are asleep in their beds, and we can Finally get the stench of pine sol and the chopped onions we cooked for supper off of us.

    Also most women have a system/ritual..for shampooing and such.

    Put shampoo on, let sit. Wash body. Rinse out shampoo, Apply Conditioner, let sit for as long as possible-the longer it sits, the better our hair. Shave. Use any facial products we may have. Rinse conditioner.
     
  12. Lothgar

    Lothgar New Member

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    Are you referring to that little mesh bag type thing, with a spongy filler, that ladies use to scrub with? Yeah, I've seen those and have no idea what they are called either.

    Once I asked and was told it was top secret chick stuff...and if she told a non-chick like me, she'd have to kill me.

    I figured it was best to leave well enough alone.
     
  13. spklvr

    spklvr Contributor Contributor

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    My dad is always amazed by how long I can stay in the shower.
    First, I just stand there for a while, mainly get used to the water and make it as hot as possible. Then, shampoo. Leave it in for a little while. Rinse. Then conditioner. While still in, I use a cloth and usually fruity smelling body wash on my body. Then wash out the conditioner. I have sensitive skin, so I need shaving gel when I shave my legs and armpits (and does no one here shave their bikini line?) Then it takes a while to get dry, and again because of my skin, I need to use body lotion, and I also use moisturizer on my face... and if it's in the morning, I need to put on make-up and stuff before work/school. Lol, that sounds horrible, and I'm not even that girly. All of this usually takes an hour.
     
  14. PurpleCandle

    PurpleCandle New Member

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    1. Loofah, very stiff and mainly used for exfoliating, not usually for washing.
    2. Bath sponge, a soft sponge used for washing, good at gather lather.
    3. A pouf or mesh pouf, made of nylon mesh, comes in many colors and is used for washing.

    Lothgar, I trust you can keep this info secret? I do not want to have to kill you, I am just too lazy for that.
     
  15. Link the Writer

    Link the Writer Flipping Out For A Good Story. Contributor

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    What would happen if men everywhere know what it's called?
     
  16. Mallory

    Mallory Contributor Contributor

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    Link, why do you need to know the details of what women do in the shower...lmao what kind of scene are you writing here? ;) ;)

    I agree with the people who said stand/sit there for a long time, except usually a roommate comes in and says to hurry up. Oh the joys of splitting the cost of living.
     
  17. Link the Writer

    Link the Writer Flipping Out For A Good Story. Contributor

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    Well, just a scene in my sci-fi novel where my protagonist is taking a shower, mulling over the events of the past few days until she reaches a startling conclusion that she hadn't thought up of before.

    She hurries up to get dress before informing her crew about it.

    That's the scene I'm writing. :)
     
  18. Mallory

    Mallory Contributor Contributor

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    Nice. :) Be careful not to get too detailed though, that can annoy readers if you go on and on about her shampoo choices.
     
  19. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    A shower is just a shower. Now, a _bath_ is an event. Before I got a grip and forbid myself to buy anything new until my supplies were used up, I had two shelves of bath potions. (Four scents of bath oil, four scents of bath salts, bubbles, bath bombs, and so on and so on and so on...)
     
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  20. Lothgar

    Lothgar New Member

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    Mayhem, bedlam, violence in the streets...men the world over turning up dead in pools of their own blood...

    ...it would be the end of life as we know it...a world gone mad and burning in flames of anarchy...where women endure, without men...and the species slowly dies out because there is no mating...

    ...and its all your fault...the last history book will say "Link the Writer destroyed the world with his shower scene research"...

    ...oh...the humanity of it all...



    ...well...maybe it won't be THAT bad...but lord knows it won't be good :(
     
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  21. Link the Writer

    Link the Writer Flipping Out For A Good Story. Contributor

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    @ Mallory: I think you mean they'd get annoyed if I kept describing the protagonist's giving herself a bath like it's the greatest thing ever.

    One of the best advice I've seen women writers give men: "If you want to write from the perspective of a woman...write with your brain, not your erection."

    The only reason she's in the shower is because that's when she figures it all out. However, I could just as easily have her lie on her bed staring at a picture. It's not really essential that she take a shower.
     
  22. Smoke

    Smoke New Member

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    I've got several different scents of soap. I pick one up before getting in the shower, get distracted, realize that I better at least use shampoo before the water gets cold.

    Not that I've shaved in months, but even during shorts weather I don't shave every time I wash.

    If she's gotten out of the shower because she thought of something while rinsing her hair, maybe she didn't manage to get it completely rinsed.
     
  23. Mallory

    Mallory Contributor Contributor

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    I agree; maybe once every 2-3 days, but I also don't have thick or dark leg hair. People who have hairier legs do have to shave once a day.
     
  24. Trilby

    Trilby Contributor Contributor

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    Totally agree with Mallory here. Don't get bogged down under unimportant details.

    Here again I agree with ChickenFreak.
    If I'm in a hurry, then it's a quick shower for me - If I have the time, then I prefer a long warm soak in a the bath.

    Link - being that your character has something to mull over, then a nice, long, refreshing bath is the place to do it.

    speaking personally - I have never had to shave my legs in my life, so not all women need to shave - thank goodness.
     
  25. Norule

    Norule New Member

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    I think that you can write this anyway you want since most people shower in thier own way. make the shower yours xD
     

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